### Elon Musk’s Public Fallout with Trump Costs Him $34 Billion in One Day

In a dramatic financial setback, Elon Musk experienced one of the largest single-day declines in his personal wealth, dropping by $34 billion. This significant loss followed Musk's escalating public feud with President Donald Trump, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Previously, Musk’s grievances were mostly directed at the GOP's much-discussed "big beautiful bill." However, Musk escalated his criticism, going beyond policy disagreements to personally confront Trump. In a series of social media outbursts, Musk denied accusations that his opposition to the bill was due to the removal of tax credits benefiting Tesla. The clash intensified when Musk unearthed old tweets from Trump, accused the president of ties with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein, and claimed credit for aiding Trump’s 2024 election win.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Musk's actions as "an unfortunate episode," reiterating that the President remains focused on passing the significant piece of legislation. Responding to Musk's allegations regarding Epstein, Leavitt’s comments underscored the administration's dedication to its legislative agenda.

The spat quickly took on economic dimensions as Trump threatened to cancel federal contracts with companies led by Musk. As a retaliatory measure, Musk threatened to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. The aftershock was felt in the stock market as Tesla shares plummeted over 14%, leading to an approximate $138 billion decline in the company's market capitalization.

This isn't the first time Musk’s net worth has seen dramatic fluctuations. In November 2021, he posted a Twitter poll asking if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, where 57% of 3.5 million respondents voted in favor. This move led to a 16% drop in Tesla shares that week, causing a $50 billion hit to his net worth.

Despite these incidents, Musk maintains that his social media activity bears no impact on his companies' valuations—a view challenged by several regulatory actions. Following his controversial 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private at $420 per share, the SEC imposed a $20 million fine and required Musk to get pre-approval for social media posts related to Tesla, a mandate often referred to as the "Twitter sitter."

Musk's attempts to nullify this arrangement have been unsuccessful, with the Supreme Court rejecting his appeal in April 2023. Neither Musk nor a spokesperson for Tesla provided comments on the recent fallout.